After ‘Liberty Dollars’ Creator Convicted, Feds Seek Millions

From [HERE] The U.S. government wants ownership of $7 million worth of coins manufactured and sold by Bernard von NotHaus, a 67-year-old antigovernment icon who became a “high priest” in his own marijuana-smoking church.

 A federal jury in Statesville, N.C., decided on March 18 that the “Liberty Dollars” and other silver, gold and copper coins manufactured in North Idaho and sold throughout the United States by von NotHaus and his sales team violated federal laws. Von NotHaus, the founder of the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act (NORFED), was convicted on charges of conspiracy and two counterfeiting-related charges.

No sentencing date has been set for von NotHaus, who could get up to 15 years in prison. Three other co-defendants are still awaiting a separate trial.

The Liberty Dollars are still a hit with some coin collectors without a political or philosophical agenda. But most buyers, it appears, came from the ranks of anti-tax or radical “sovereign citizen” movements. The common denominator: challenging the authority of the federal government to tax and regulate, along with the notion that the Federal Reserve is controlled by private Jewish bankers.

Never bashful, von NotHaus testified in his own defense, telling the jury he had done nothing illegal and had every right as a U.S. citizen to mint and sell his own coins.  He once said he wanted his private coin-producing operation to be to the Federal Reserve what FedEx became to the U.S. Postal Service.

Although given little attention by the media, the case appears to be the first time the U.S. government has brought a successful criminal prosecution against someone viewed by federal authorities as a direct threat and competitor to the U.S. Mint and the Federal Reserve Bank. [MORE]